What is good about being in Europe is the abundance of transportation!  I had traveled on trains in Europe before my trip to Italy, but since being here I am using the train all the time.  It is pretty straightforward, but if you haven’t been on a train before (or maybe you have) you may find my information beneficial!

In Italy there are two train companies that you can choose from when traveling within the country: Trenitalia and Italo.  Trenitalia is owned by the Italian government, and  the company has both regional and high speed trains.  Trenitalia’s highspeed train is called the Frecciarosa.  Italo is privately owned and only operates the high speed trains and travels through larger Italian hubs.  You can book tickets directly with either of the companies on their website, app, and also in person at the station.  Personally I cannot vouch for buying a ticket in person.  I have only used the website and apps for both companies.   In my opinion, booking online/app is easiest and then you can use your smartphone to download the ticket on!  My computer will automatically translate the website (for either company) into English.  Then you book the ticket just like you would book an airplane ticket online.  Once you have checked out you should be emailed a booking code.  Next I plug the booking code into the app with my first and last name and then my reservation shows up in the app.  I do not have an unlimited data plan here, so I actually download the tickets to my Apple Wallet and I am able to use that without any issues if I have my cellular roaming turned off.  Personally, I have used Trenitalia for smaller trips and Italo’s fast trains for longer weekend trips.  Since Italo only has the high speed trains, you get a specific seat number and can choose a fare class—just like on a plane.  On Trenitalia you do not have a certain seat number so you can just go wherever you see a seat available.

I also think it is important to know that when you get to the train station in whatever town you are in you need to find a departures board.  Your train ticket will have a number on it and that is what you need to look for on the board.  It is there that the platform will be announced where you will get on the train.  What will be on the board next to the train number is the FINAL DESTINATION where the train terminates.  So it is entirely possible that the town next to the train number is not the town that you will be getting off because, you are only riding on part of the journey of the train.  For example, I took a train to Milan (amazing city) two weekends ago.  When I got to the train station I saw my train number and the final destination was Turin which is a city farther North than Milan.  Once I got to the platform the train pulled up so people could board.  Sometimes some of the newer trains will have a screen on the side that will show the stops that the train will take on the journey! After a ride or two on a foreign train, taking the train will be a whizz!